


Keeping Promises

by elleisforlovee



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: CFDD universe, F/M, Memories, Volantis, careful fear and dead devotion, cfdd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:28:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21895909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elleisforlovee/pseuds/elleisforlovee
Summary: [“In Volantis...you were so good with everyone. Pretending was nice. I liked that you were mine...it was the best lie I’ve ever told. When we go back….promise me you’ll fuck me in that bed?”]~ Careful Fear and Dead Devotion, Chapter 14***Arya and Gendry return to Volantis with promises to fulfill.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 30
Kudos: 59





	Keeping Promises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mayb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayb/gifts).



> The prompt for this was Gendry making good on the promise he made Arya back in Chapter 14 of Careful Fear and Dead Devotion. You absolutely do need to read CFDD if you’re going to enjoy this one. This is one callback after another. Somehow this story feels like it takes place in the future *and* the past. 
> 
> (NOTE: I'm intentionally vague about *where* in the future this takes place. I didn't want any of this to spoil the many chapters of CFDD we still have left!)
> 
> This was written for the absolutely perfect @mayb. HOLLS! HOLLLLLLLS. Where do I even begin when it comes to my love and respect for you? There are no words. You are the hype-woman I do not deserve and I am more thankful for you than you could ever realize. Your support means EVERYTHING to me. You just don’t even know. 
> 
> This feels like it’s a bit all over the place but I feel like if anyone can get what I was trying to do, it’d be you. Enjoy, m’dear! I hope it’s everything you wanted!!!
> 
> The fish to my chum 💜
> 
> ((Other sidenote: Barely edited. I was too excited to post. Apologies in advance.))

The cafe was exactly how Arya remembered it: all art-covered walls and birchwood finishes. The scent of espresso mixed with the rays of sun coming in through the storefront’s large windows until it was nothing but warmth welcoming Arya and Gendry further into the coffee shop. Their hands were intertwined and their feet still lazy from the hours they’d already spent in the car. They still had more than a hundred miles to go and both were feeling restless. Caffeine was likely a poor solution but both craved it anyway. It was an addiction, like the way Arya leaned back into Gendry while they stood in line or the way Gendry wrapped his arm around her, keeping her tight against him, even as they moved closer to the register. 

When it was their time to order, the two detached if only so Gendry could remove his wallet from his back pocket. As he looked down to retrieve his debit card, Arya found she was not the only one admiring the strength of his forearms or the curve of his shoulders. The cashier, a girl Arya did not know, seemed to be enjoying her view of Gendry as well. The oblivious way Gendry looked to Arya to smile as he waited for the girl to give his card back, only infuriated Arya more. 

But she didn’t say anything. The old her would have; the old her would have let something like that ruin the rest of her day. This Arya, the girl who had matured beyond what she ever thought was capable — the girl that was wholly and deliriously in love with Gendry — turned her anger to a smile. 

“Thanks!” Arya called out, tossing the word carelessly over her shoulder, not really caring if the female barista heard her. It was delivered in the same saccharine voice she’d been raised on, the one she used to hate but now used as a shield, deflecting anything unpleasant so she could forever keep her head held high. 

“What is up with you?” Gendry whispered. He was skeptical, but not skeptical enough to push Arya away. When she placed her hands into the back pockets of his jeans and stood on her toes to ask for a kiss, he gave one readily. His eyes even closed and only opened when Arya moved her hands upward and allowed her thumbs to dip into the waist of his jeans. Her fingers were more innocent in nature, but any onlooker wouldn’t be able to see them from their position beneath Gendry’s t-shirt. “Arya!”

She giggled, nearly snorting into her shoulder to conceal her amusement. Gendry’s eyes widened as he did his best to diagnose her hunger. Arya took his glance as a challenge and leaned up again. With one last look over her shoulder, she let her lips mumble slowly, nearly brushing against Gendry’s earlobe.

“I cannot wait to get there,” she purred. With hands pressed flat to Gendry’s chest for leverage, Arya inhaled and shared another sentiment. “You have promises to fulfill…”

Pulling away Arya saw the grin that began to spread across Gendry’s face. His complexion had become rosy, and he shook his head before turning back to the counter. In what was meant to be an attempt to distract himself, Gendry’s eyes caught upon the barista. She concentrated on their drinks with determination and when Gendry heard Arya giggle again, he realized why. From where the pair stood waiting for their drinks, the barista was the only one that could see them. It was almost as if…

“Arya,” Gendry’s voice warned lowly. 

She still looked innocent. She still looked beautiful in that breathtaking sort of way that had nothing to do with what she was and everything to do with who she was. Arya could only smile. Being found out she buried her giddiness in the crook of Gendry’s arm, breathing him in. 

“Waters?” the barista called out, now wearing rouged cheeks of her own. It was as if she were searching for the owners of the drinks she’d prepared — as if she didn’t know it was the couple that had been hopelessly wrapped up in one another since they first walked in. 

It was Gendry’s turn to thank the girl. Without another glance toward the barista, Gendry handed Arya her drink and the donut she’d ordered and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders so the two could walk out of the cafe as one. He wanted to criticize Arya or at least question her intentions. Instead, he shook his head and slid down into driver’s seat with a chuckle on his lips. The silence of the car surrounded them; instantly the summer heat was like a suffocating hug until Gendry turned his key in the ignition and began to reverse out of the parking spot. He didn’t need to see Arya to know she was still wearing her smile like a crown. It was a sign of a smugly secured victory, even if she’d been the only one playing the game.

Gendry laughed. “You’re a fucking tease, y’know that?”

~!~

They didn’t make it far but soon they were in an area close enough to Talisa’s house that they were familiar with the radio stations. Arya turned up a song she found particularly appealing before digging into the donut Gendry had purchased for her. The air conditioning still blowing from the dash kept the chocolate frosting in tact. It was the cream filling inside that proved messy, but Arya turned away as she ate, staring at the way the rugged, almost brush filled land slowly turned to rolling hills of pure white sand. 

It was a moment of silence, or perhaps several, where Arya could think about all that had happened since she and Gendry had been here last. It was insane to think that they’d been in love then — or at least that she had. She knew that was what it was then; their initial trip to Volantis was merely many intertwined moments that ended with her realizing just how much Gendry meant to her. Even when some of his words broke her heart, even when he delved into the parts of her past she always swore she’d keep from the world, Volantis had Arya realizing her feelings for Gendry, the same ones she’d tried to ignore since they first met, were not fleeting. Arya knew all those years ago that she’d love Gendry forever. What she didn’t expect was that she’d somehow grow to love him _more_. 

With these thoughts on her mind, and the way she’d accepted his chiding as a compliment, Arya turned to look to Gendry. He had his eyes on the road: one hand on the wheel and the other resting limply atop the center console. He was relaxed, but he must have noticed her staring because he looked to her and gave a smile. 

Arya smirked back before shifting upon her seat. Without warning her hand floated up and moved to curl around Gendry’s neck. She leaned into him as her fingers began their exploration, lightly scraping at the newly short hair at his nape while her thumb circled soothing patterns just below his ear. Gendry corrected his posture, and with it used the hand not on the wheel to gently grip Arya’s wrist. She stopped, wondering if it was what he’d request but instead he turned his face and pressed a kiss to her palm. Arya’s hand floated away and Gendry’s did too, finding a new home in her lap, curved around her thigh, his thumb following Arya’s lead as the much more calloused pads of his fingers caressed her skin. 

Content with their new position, Arya leaned into Gendry. With her elbow on the console separating them, she stared out the front windshield. Every mailbox they passed had Gendry’s hand moving further and further up Arya’s thigh until finally his thumb was running against the hem of her lace underwear. 

Gendry looked to Arya and when she glanced back to him, encouragement in her eyes, he was made to come alive. 

“Pull over.”

Gendry blinked. He realized then that his mouth had gone dry. In a way, he felt like he was dreaming, but if the past few years had taught him anything, it was that the life he lived with Arya wasn’t too far off from the life he’d dreamed about since they met. She was every bit as adventurous, kind, and kinky as he hoped she’d be. But it still had his heart racing as if he were surprised by her honesty — as if Gendry expected all of this to someday disappear: the way her want for him met his fully. 

He obliged, not giving much attention or care to the way he coasted off the road into a thin patch of land kept separated from the cliffs below by worn wood, latched to resemble a fence. It was the off-season, so it was likely that many of the homes they drove past were empty. But Arya was still excited by the prospect of doing something they’d never done before. 

_How had they never done this before?_

The car wasn’t even in park before Arya climbed over the console and settled into the backseat. For a moment Gendry contemplated joining her, but his senses got the better of him. He’d look ridiculous trying to fit into the same space she’d occupied so instead he leaped out of the car, tossing his seat belt off with as much fervor as he could manage before joining Arya in the backseat. The door slammed shut and the sound of the air still pushing out of the vents reminded Gendry that this was just as insane. But the sight of Arya, already in her bra and attempting to undo the buttons on her shorts had Gendry jolted back into the present. 

“We need to be quick,” he mumbled against her lips. His weight had her pushed back against the door, urging her hands to forget her own nakedness so she could temporarily clutch his face and angle his mouth in just the way she liked it. 

Gendry reached behind Arya to blindly lock the doors. They engaged rather loudly, and Arya smirked into Gendry’s mouth at the sound as her hands now explored the hot skin beneath his shirt. In one jerky motion, Gendry removed the cotton and revealed himself to her. With heaving lungs and hungry hands he continued his assault, bruising Arya’s mouth as she rolled her hips up into him. He was hard for her, a fact he was not shy about sharing. Gendry took careful time to show her how much he wanted her, pressing down into her thigh, practically feeling the warmth radiating off her skin. If her lips hadn’t been so insistent upon his own, Gendry would have managed a laugh. But he was too distracted, too lust filled to do much other than kiss her. He wanted her as if he’d never had her before, as if the otherwise mundane, slow love they’d made the night before hadn’t been just as wonderful. 

“Fuck, you’re…” Arya’s voice trailed off as Gendry’s hand pressed flat against her belly before quickly exploring the skin beneath. He paused to tug at the button keeping her denim shorts to her waist and sighed against her mouth when the material finally gave. He nodded too, as if accepting whatever Arya wished to say. 

They fell back, awkwardly scooting down the seat with the goal of making themselves more comfortable. Their attempts were rushed, and almost foolish. They looked much more like teenagers new to sex than like the adults they were, homeowners who had spent far too many nights discussing when they’d want to start trying for a family. 

It was like this sometimes. Arousal came upon them so abruptly, demanding to be listened to. Today it had Arya hitting her head on the door’s curved armrest while the lock of a seatbelt dug into her back. Only the sound of her breathing, mixed ragged with Gendry’s, spurred them on. 

“Need you inside…” She tossed her head back, nearly repeating her early mistake. This time her neck craned enough to keep her from hitting the door again as Gendry’s fingers entered her, his thumb tickling her clit with just the right amount of syncopated pressure. Arya hadn’t even realized but Gendry had pushed down her shorts and the lace she wore beneath. Both items rested just above her knees, making the way she wished to wrap herself around Gendry that much more difficult. 

She whined, perhaps out of want, more likely out of need. Gendry silenced her with a wet kiss to her mouth, one that had Arya’s lips parting, inviting his tongue inside. It was sloppy and rushed and neither seemed to mind. It was also the perfect distraction for Gendry; as he concentrated on keeping his weight off of Arya, she used the slim space between him to undo his jeans and push the denim down, taking his boxer-briefs with it. He nearly collapsed upon her then. Arya tore her mouth away, practically begging that he didn’t. The moment stilled as the pair locked eyes. Gendry couldn’t even continue his ministrations as Arya took control. Her chest rose and fell with each passing stroke. Gendry’s cock throbbed in her hand, perfect and hard. 

No words existed and the moans that escaped their lips were silenced as Gendry finally slid into Arya. His hips were slow, in and out then in again. Gendry couldn’t watch their coupling in the way he often did. Arya also soon placed her palms to his cheeks and begged for a kiss. He gave it, all before being spurred on by the way Arya’s cunt clenched around him. 

In any other world this would have been awkward or uncomfortable. In a way, even here it was an odd mix of both, one that somehow drifted away as each meeting of their hips pushed them closer to the edge. The seatbelt still dug into Arya’s ass and Gendry’s legs were still painfully bent behind him, keeping his feet from kicking at the glass window. Somehow it was still enough, until finally the speed of their thrusts and the way their mouths continued to meet, had them both coming undone. 

It was one last sigh before the single thread of stability Gendry had been clinging to was ripped from his grasp. He collapsed atop Arya and felt her body shake beneath him. Gendry didn’t need to open his eyes to know she was laughing. What would have once had him feeling self conscious only had him chuckling into her neck. 

“I’m getting too old for this shit,” he mumbled before nibbling at her ear. “I’m going to be stiff later.”

Arya withdrew her hips and Gendry slipped out, his slick skin now resting on different parts of her. She smiled just the same as her fingernails danced across his scalp. “You better be _stiff_ later,” she growled. “You still have promises to make good on…”

Gendry’s heartbeat stopped and when it started again, it came back with a force he was unfamiliar with. He wondered if he’d ever find Arya predictable. For a boy that once pleaded to figure her out, he was now a man that was happy there were still parts of her that were unknown. 

“You didn’t…”

“It’s fine,” Arya dismissed softly. 

“I...fuck. You know I hate that.”

“Don’t,” Arya snickered. “This wasn’t about that.”

“If we were anywhere else you know I’d—“

Arya cut him off with a kiss. “There’s still time. We have a whole day before anyone joins us.” Then she brought her mouth to his ear, the hot breath he’d bestowed upon her landing on his neck, bringing chills up his spine. “So much time to make me scream.”

“Promise?”

Arya raised a brow. “I don’t know. Do you?”

Gendry seizes her lips passionately - unapologetically. “Fuck yeah, I promise.”

~!~

The sun had only just begun its descent when Arya and Gendry arrived to the Maegyr’s beach home. They made quick work of putting their bags down, each grabbing for their bathing suits without discussion. It was no longer an issue for them to change in front of one another and they did so while holding a conversation completely unrelated to their weekend at the shore. It was almost unreal to think that they’d once tip-toed around each other in this very room and when they’d kissed for the first time they recoiled as if burnt by flame. 

Making their way down to the beach, Arya and Gendry carried only towels and a nalgene of ice cold lemonade they’d found in the fridge. After they descended the stairs and finally touched down to the sand, Arya quickly took off the shirt she wore as a cover up. Beneath it, a barely-there bathing suit Gendry knew only he’d ever see. It had him grabbing for Arya’s waist, pulling her to him so he could bring them both toward the crashing waves. Arya cackled, her body curled into itself while she pretended to push away from him. Even when he set her down into the water and the foam at their toes soon grew to a substantial pool around them, Arya deflected Gendry’s advances in a way that showed she only wanted him more. Each splash, or dive in the water had the couple closer: more out of breath but working to build that same want that had taken over in the car. They could have been anywhere, even back home, and it wouldn’t have mattered. In any universe, being any version of themselves, they were drawn to each other. 

Childlike wonder faded to more adult playfulness. The kisses the pair shared were heavier, hotter, wetter. Arya’s lips were swollen and Gendry had scratches on his back from where Arya had gripped his shoulders tightly while the waves lapped around them. 

Wordlessly they headed back toward their things. Each picked up their towels, and Arya grabbed for the nalgene, sipping at the sweet citrus concoction before passing it back to Gendry. The sugar was still on their tongues when they made it back inside, the air conditioning cooling their skin as they headed for the stairs. At the first step, Arya pushed past Gendry and began to run. Her little legs were almost comical next to his much taller frame and soon he had Arya tossed over his shoulder, their towels forgotten on the landing. 

They didn’t bother closing the door. Gendry dropped Arya atop the bed and her body bounced, mixing with her laughter and the way she soon pressed her toes to Gendry’s naked chest, the action somehow keeping him at a distance while simultaneously begging that he give her more. 

Gendry gripped Arya’s ankles and pulled her closer, her whole body sliding down the bed so he was perfectly nestled between her spread legs. She reached up and Gendry helped her now, their fingers intertwining as Arya nearly twirled, making it so her back was pressed to Gendry’s front. In surrender she raised her arms, seeking his skin out and finding her movements useless as Gendry began his careful attack upon the taut expanse of her neck. There wasn’t enough skin for him to taste or time to take up. Arya continued to grip and grapple with Gendry from behind, her hands curving around his neck for purchase before eventually floating away, finding the way he marked the sensitive patch of skin behind her ear to be more than enough to focus on.

Arya couldn’t wait. She was delirious, lost in the feel of Gendry’s cock pressing into the dimples of her back. Any dew from the ocean was eradicated, wiped clean by hands or tongues, replaced with the sheen of summer sweat as the pleasure in their bellies grew.

“I...I wonder…”

Gendry cut Arya off with a kiss. When she began to turn around, hoping to see him, he kept her hips where they were, making her wish an impossible one. Instead he tenderly removed her hair from the back of her neck and kissed her nape. His mouth lingered as Arya’s heartbeat stopped, waiting for him to move, or for the way her dizzying arousal had her grasping at the little bit of composure she had left.

Arya removed her own top, a task that was easy as the ties fell apart, only to be replaced by Gendry’s wandering hands. She was bare-chested and even though he couldn’t see her, Gendry’s fingers managed to turn each breast to a stiff peak. When his hands ghosted back down her belly, sending her stomach into somersaults, Gendry felt Arya’s arousal grow. Already her wetness coated his fingers as his hand passed by the still damp material of her barely-there bathing suit bottoms. 

“Take them off,” Arya gritted.

Gendry bit at her neck again, causing her to keen. He obliged anyway, doing so in a way that convinced both of them it was somehow his idea. “Bend over,” he instructed first.

Arya complied, and Gendry guided her, even as one arm remained strong around her waist, keeping most of her flush against him. As she obeyed, Arya felt all of Gendry’s length rubbing against the cleft of her ass. He was hard, almost harder than he’d been in the car. She didn’t think such a thing was possible but her mind went blank as his touch left her, pressing her neck gently into the mattress as the ties at her hips gave way. 

Next to holding her attention with his eyes, this was Gendry’s favorite view of Arya. The muscles of her back were strong, shifting and moving upon such a delicate frame as she easily surrendered to him. The way Arya gripped the duvet before Gendry had even touched her told him all he needed to know. She trusted him just as much as she needed him — wanted him. 

Impatiently, Arya wiggled her hips, rubbing her bottom upon Gendry’s still-growing erection. The damp material of his swim trunks was cold upon her skin but she persisted, teasing his length, up and down, up and down. When Arya attempted to reach behind her to claw at the elastic of Gendry’s shorts, he surprised her, pushing her wandering hands back to the mattress. He felt Arya giggle just as he had in the car. The laugh was one of his favorites and it spurred him on as the hand not holding her wrists to the bedspread fumbled with his shorts until they landed to the carpet below in a wet heap. 

Gendry stepped out of them, kicking them away. They slapped against the nearby hardwood, the noise causing the moment to freeze. The grip Gendry had upon his cock was nothing compared to Arya’s touch, but he continued anyway, stroking himself, using the view of Arya as inspiration until finally a drip of pre-cum landed on her back.

“Will you—”

Gendry bent down, pressing his arousal into Arya, while his lips tickled her ear. “It’s embarrassing how much I wanted you all those years ago,” he coaxed. He saw Arya smile so he continued. “I never thought—”

“Show me,” Arya simpered. 

Gendry stood back up. His cockhead was throbbing now, his hips twitching as he watched Arya rub her clit against the edge of the mattress in search of her own release. In an instant he found himself jealous of the bed she laid upon, even as Arya raised her ass in the air, begging that Gendry just take her already.

He stilled her hips, manipulating Arya at the perfect angle. He missed her eyes then but continued anyway, angling her body so the tip of his erection rubbed against her wet center, collecting her arousal, using it to tease her swollen clit. It was Gendry’s head that dropped back when he finally entered her, as if he wasn’t the one in control. Arya surrendered, her tiny fists clutching the sheet below as Gendry began to move. Her waist was so slim and his hands so wide that the grip he had, keeping her hips still, allowed his thumbs to fall into the dimples of Arya’s back. He thrusted into her with an affection that was somewhat surreal. Arya wondered if Gendry would have been this slow had they not shared their moment in the car earlier. 

She wished to see him, wished to capture his attention so the eye contact they shared made the meeting of their hips all the more electric, but the way he pistoned in and out of her had Arya’s eyes closed tightly anyway. All of her was powerless; she felt as if her body was not her own. Gendry owned every inch of her and when he leaned down to kiss her shoulder blade, Arya barely registered the featherlight touch of his sticky lips on her skin. She felt only the way he spilled himself inside of her as the moan that ripped from his throat coated a choked _I love you._

~!~

It had happened before. When Arya blinked herself awake, Gendry was collapsed to her side. He draped an arm across her stomach in a weak attempt at donating comfort. If she had lost consciousness, it was only briefly. The room around them was silent as the sun continued its descent. The ocean outside continued to kiss the shore as a breeze blew in through the cracked window. 

With a heavy sigh, Arya tried to turn over. Her limbs were weak, her entire body numb in the best way. When she finally was able to move, it was almost painful. There was an ache between her legs and Arya did her best to decipher if it was a result of their lovemaking or her body already craving more. 

“I…”

“Yeah,” Gendry breathed out a laugh. He reached for her and pulled her close. She surrendered easily, folding into him, glistening skin upon glistening skin. He kissed her forehead before drifting off. The last thing he heard was Arya’s heartbeat racing for him as she drew his body closer.

~!~

The moon replaced the sun. A still naked Arya and Gendry remained wrapped up in one another, bare skin atop freshly laundered sheets, now marked with the scent of them coming together. Arya felt the weight of Gendry’s arms wrapping around her before she realized she was still caught up in his embrace. When he nuzzled her neck with his nose, all was confirmed. Arya exhaled, sighing as if taking a snapshot of the moment. Had there really been days when their nights and mornings had been different — when they were able to avoid how they so clearly felt about one another to exist separately?

Those memories seemed to exist in a different lifetime. 

“What time is it?” Gendry grumbled, still refusing to open his eyes. 

Arya grinned, unable to hide the way she still found post-slumber Gendry to be truly adorable. “Don’t know. House is still quiet so it can’t be that late...or that early, I guess.”

Gendry laughed into Arya’s neck. “Was the sex that good that you honestly think we slept the night away?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered with a giggle. “I thought I passed out before so…”

Gendry cackled. He turned over onto his back and brought Arya with him. “When is everyone getting in?”

“Early tomorrow morning.” She thought for a moment. “We can eat and still have time.”

Gendry looked down to Arya, clearly confused. “Time for what?”

“Did you honestly think _that_ counted?”

“What?”

“Your promise. You swore you’d fuck me _in_ this bed, not—“

Gendry cut her off with a kiss. “You’re insane.”

Arya beamed. “I just like to keep you honest.”

“Is this your way of saying you want vanilla missionary sex?”

“Maybe,” Arya shrugged. “I want you to want me the way you did back then.”

Terror hit Gendry like a slap to the cheek. “Wait...what? I—”

“I wouldn’t have trusted you to bend me over and fuck me from behind back then,” Arya explained simply. “It wasn’t about having fun. I wanted you...I just wanted _you_ ,” she settled. “I can’t explain it.”

Gendry pulled her closer. “You don’t have to. I get it.”

~!~

“What about this one?”

Arya passed her cellphone to Gendry. On its screen was the image of a plush leather sofa and a price that had Gendry not giving the option a second glance before handing the phone back to Arya. The sofa was just one of many they’d already looked at in searching for the perfect couch for their newly redecorated living room. This was their life now: curled up together beneath the moon, drinking wine with the ocean just steps away. As Arya returned to her online shopping and Gendry continued scrolling through his fantasy league statistics, both were very clearly avoiding the obvious. The last time they’d been here, things had been very different. Arya had been so angry at Gendry that he thought she may never speak to him again. And his own heart ached at that thought, not knowing she somehow felt the same. 

“C’mon,” Gendry urged, as if suddenly wanting to get back to that moment. 

From her place curled upon an adirondack chair, Arya looked up to Gendry, surprised by the space he had previously occupied and how he no longer sat in it. “Bed? You’re tired?”

Gendry chuckled. “A bit. Aren’t you?”

Arya stood slowly, her limbs momentarily looking as if they were being controlled by someone else. In a way, they were. This was not the first time in her life she’d blindly followed Gendry; it certainly wouldn’t be the last. 

With their wine glasses empty, they left them behind. Arya fell into the space Gendry’s raised arm allowed and when he wrapped himself around her, he almost felt Arya deflate. Simply, he took her chin in his forefinger and thumb, angling her face upward. She wore a pout, one that encouraged the smile he already wore. Without warning, Gendry leaned in to kiss her. His lips were effortless — soft and unassuming. As his hand smoothed down to rest upon her neck, his eyes remained closed, an easy feat with the air around them stripped of its oxygen. Only when Gendry blinked his eyes open did he realize Arya had been lost in the moment too. It was almost chaste, the kiss they shared, and yet it acted as a nod to the people they once were. So many years ago, Arya had sat on this same balcony, drinking wine alone in an attempt to keep a distance between herself and Gendry. 

In dismissal of their past, Gendry held Arya just a bit tighter, and leaned in for another kiss. It was all he had to offer, just a reminder of how far they had come. They were different people now, and they were those people together. 

Pulling away this time, both were smiling. Arya even reached up to palm at Gendry’s face and ask for more. It was an affection he readily gave as his hands remained innocently at her waist, just wanting to keep her close. He could have stayed there all night if she didn’t soon pull away, flashing another smile. 

Arya jumped up and Gendry caught her. Like their love it was effortless, slow, calculated. Gendry had opened the glass door behind them and once he stumbled them over the threshold it was Arya who fumbled around to close it. The action was the only one done in haste. The couple remained attached, the ocean crashing on the shore behind them, their unmade bed only steps away. Arya didn’t need to ask Gendry if he felt the same, if he’d be content just standing there with her all night, passing slow kisses back and forth. She knew he’d hold her forever. He’d been doing it for far longer than either realized. 

Eventually though, Arya’s body slid down his own. It was not defeat, but a show of gratitude. As their mouths continued to meet, their hands did not wander, they clutched. They’d said goodbye to the moment both were clearly thinking of from all those years ago. Each gentle kiss worked to welcome this new version of them, one that was less scared and more confident. 

When Gendry was brave enough to reach for Arya’s shirt, she stepped back as if in offering. She looked like an angel ready to accept her wings with her shoulders brought back, her eyes heavy and the most lithe of smiles gracing her face. 

She was naked beneath and thought her skin did not paint itself in goosebumps, Arya felt almost shy standing before Gendry. He’d seen her like this so many times, two of those times this same day. But he currently looked upon her with total adoration that her nakedness was almost overwhelming. He didn’t need to tell her the things he usually did, the things Arya knew she’d never tire of: _You’re beautiful_ and the usually whispered _Perfect._ And her favorite: _Fuck, I’m lucky._

Gendry pushed the tresses of loose hair off Arya’s face and once again leaned down to seize her mouth. It was simple, fleeting. It was an attempt at mollifying their want until he could join her in a similar state. Both knew this because when they pulled away, Arya’s shaky hands immediately reached for Gendry’s waistband. Her fingers were firm there, almost methodical, as they made easy work of untying the string keeping the cotton up on his hips. Undone, the elastic kept his sweatpants where they were meant to be, presenting a challenge to Arya, especially as Gendry’s chest rose and fell, fueled by patience. 

With an unsteady inhale, Arya dipped her fingers into his waistband, curving them around the fleece inside, teasing his hot skin in a way she was likely ignorant too. Gendry inhaled too, much more sharply, like a teenage boy in disbelief of the beautiful girl before him. 

Even with the waves, the crickets outside, and the tick of the ceiling fan above, the room felt still and silent around them until finally Arya was in Gendry’s arms again, their mouths and hands reacquainted. The way they embraced, the way they took careful time with tasting one another, all felt like coming home. There wasn’t enough skin to caress or laughter to pass back and forth and they only breathed when Gendry tenderly rested Arya atop the bed. Her smile fell, if only to match how serious he looked. 

“Is this what you wanted?” He asked, breathless. 

Arya nodded before nipping at his mouth once more. “Yes. This is exactly what I wanted.”

Everything fell into focus. Hands found homes in the curves of spines and hips as lips explored familiar territory, tasting skin they’d long ago claimed as their own. There were tiny whimpers of pleasure, moans that came out as sighs, while they slowly moved in and around one another. No further words were exchanged; the silence was a heavy enough soundtrack. 

As their bodies rolled, searching for the perfect rhythm, Gendry was achingly delicate in the way he ensured Arya’s head rested upon her pillow. Her hair was mostly out of its messy, salt-kissed, bun. The freckles on her nose were cast into shadow as he hovered above her, just breathing in time. Gendry was overcome by Arya and he seized her mouth, seeking distraction. 

Things felt so innocent, so natural and soft, both forgot they were bare-skinned. Gendry’s cock pressed into Arya’s belly where heat pooled, her heart racing with want for him. 

_I wanted you. I just wanted_ you, Arya had said. 

Tentative hips met, not joined by words or kissed but by pure eye contact that was broken only when Gendry was fully sheathed inside of Arya and the electricity of the moment had both clenching their eyes shut. Soon though they were moving upon one another, meeting the other in languid, intense thrusts. They were so in-sync, they could barely move otherwise. They kissed briefly, not wanting to break the gaze they shared, as if doing so would dismiss the bliss they were both so caught up in. 

Gendry did manage a peck to Arya’s nose. Her fingers curled upon his shoulders, not marking his skin as she’d done in the ocean, but caressing the sunspots there, urging him on. She didn’t need to tell him how she wanted him. Arya also didn’t need to worry if she was giving Gendry the same pleasure he was bestowing upon her. Their foreheads met, ragged breaths passed back and forth and somehow it was enough. Even as they paced toward a climax, their usual urgency disappeared. They wished to be slow, and if it were possible, they would have held on longer. But soon Arya felt the coil in her stomach tighten, and her toes curled as Gendry’s cockhead teased at her most sensitive spot. His mouth was dropped to her neck, marking her while he did his best to maintain what little control he had left. He wanted to come together, wanted to feel his ecstasy hit at the very moment Arya’s did. 

It was the sound of Arya crying out, her keening slicing through the air that was already so thick with evidence of their lovemaking, that had Gendry giving in. His orgasm hit hard. His eyes rolled back as he continued to pump in and out of Arya, small shallow thrusts that encouraged her moans. She had surrendered completely, only sighing when Gendry broke away from a final kiss and nearly collapsed atop her. With just an ounce of control left, he managed to give his weight to her side and when he withdrew his hips, Arya pressed her hands to his back, asking that he not go. 

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. When Gendry finally pulled away, Arya hissed. Proof of their coupling coated Arya’s thigh, as a tear cascaded slowly down her cheek. She wiped it away, not wanting Gendry to think it was anything other than happiness. 

Wearing sticky skin, Arya mustered enough energy to roll into Gendry. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and in response she nibbled his ear. Speech was still impossible, and if both weren’t so breathless they’d likely be heading for the shower. Together, however, they were the perfect mixture of exhausted and satiated. They couldn’t stop smiling as their skin was still undeniable sensitive, their lips and fingertips buzzing even in their currently idle state. 

Finally: “What were you going to say before?”

The sound of Gendry’s voice, a gruff whisper, had Arya gathering enough energy to look up to him. Seeing her confusion, he tried again. 

“You said...earlier,” he mumbled, “that you wondered—“

Arya smirked. “That’s what you’re thinking of?”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Amongst other things.”

“I…” Arya couldn’t fight the grin she wore as the memories, even the one they’d just created moments before, came flooding back. “I was going to say that I wonder if…” An unapologetic giggle brushed past her swollen lips. “Don’t get offended but I...it’s insane to me how much I love you...how much you love me, I guess. And this would be fine. Anyone would be lucky to have what we have. All of this should be enough for any person, and it’s enough for me. But some days...days like today, I just wonder...it’s surreal, you know? I’m still falling in love with you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally going to post this as the last of my Holiday Gift Fics but I didn't want this to cloud judgement as we dive back into CFDD. Enjoy these very fluffy moments. Savor them. Shit's about to get real...
> 
> ♡♡♡


End file.
